Project Vampires
by paul.bashford.14
Summary: Hagrid takes his NEWT class on fieldwork. Their task is to learn as much as they can about vampires and try and prevent vampires from ever aligning with Dark Wizards. As an Auror Harry must ensure the safety of Hogwarts students. In the Harry Potter universe this is set immediately post Battle of Hogwarts and for Darren will take place during the Vampire Rites trilogy.
1. Chapter 1

**This chapter has now been updated following advice given in reviews. I hope that it is now easier to read. **

**DISCLAIMER - I do not own Harry Potter or Darren Shan the only thing I own here is the plot.**

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Chapter 1 Hagrid's Plan

Minerva McGonagall was sitting in the headmistress's office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry which had recently been rebuilt and was due to re-open in two months. It had taken a full year to rebuild after the defeat of Lord Voldemort for he had caused that much damage to the ancient school. At last the time had come for her to appoint new staff to replace those who had retired or were lost in the war. She was having a hard time planning the new curriculum and day to day running of the school and was mildly irritated that Dumbledore had not left any sort of paper work, or written structure as to how he ran the school. So why was Rubius Hagrid, the care of magical creature's professor, making her life so hard by insisting on his ridiculous ideas for the curriculum for his class? Furthermore he wanted to only teach NEWT students this year and was bumbling on about some fantastic project he had for them. She had decided earlier that day to call Hagrid to her office to discuss whatever preposterous idea he had this time and to begin the unenviable task of persuading the half giant to just do his job! There was knock at the door and Minerva called

"Come in Hagrid."

The door opened and Hagrid entered but he was not alone. He was accompanied by someone she knew very well but also trusted deeply. If Harry Potter had decided to come and help Hagrid pitch his idea maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

A few days previously.

Harry Potter was sitting at his desk rifling through reports on the rounding up of the remaining death eaters. It was dull work and he longed to be back out in the field. He had had to remind himself that he was an Auror now, and keeping up with his paper work was part of the job. All the same it was a relief when the memo came through the door. Harry reached up and grabbed the little blue paper aeroplane out of the air and unfolded it taking in what it said.

_To Auror H Potter and Head of the department for the Regulation and Control of Magical creatures._

_Please report immediately to the office of Mr P Weasley head of the Department of Magical Law enforcement and Hogwarts Liaison. This matter is of the utmost importance and requires your immediate attendance._

Harry chuckled despite coming back to his senses a year ago, during the Battle of Hogwarts; Percy Weasley had still lost none of his pompous manner. The two of them had known each other for 8 years now, yet Percy still referred to Harry as Auror Potter, and to himself as Mr P Weasley. Harry hastily scribbled a reply on the back of the memo that he was on his way and lobbed it through the open door. It whizzed away out of sight as Harry made his way to Percy's office.

"Mr Potter please take a seat we have much to discuss and little time to do so" Percy barked the minute Harry entered his office.

Harry looked at the other people in the room and was surprised to see Hagrid beaming up at me from his seat and sitting next to him was Luna. So it was Luna that had managed to get that vacancy as the head of the department for the regulation and control of magical creatures. This meeting promised to be nice and interesting.

"Professor Hagrid here has had an idea for a project for his NEWT students which I feel the ministry needs to oversee in order to ensure it works properly. I have already given my support to Hagrid's plan as it is my view that if his idea works correctly it would be greatly beneficial to all of wizard kind and this is the reason I have called you all here. Hagrid would you please outline your proposal." Percy asked

"We'd be going to do a case study of Vampires in their home like, study their feeding habits, and their customs and perhaps make contact with 'em."

Harry frowned, oh dear he thought was this really such a good idea. Vampires were dangerous creatures that the ministry new little to nothing about. Knowing Hagrid as Harry did he knew full well that Hagrid would be studying vampires with his students whether the ministry approved or not.

"I don't like this Hagrid" Harry stated "We know very little of vampires only that they are incredibly strong, resistant to magic and drink blood plea. I know nothing I say will stop you but I must insist that you are accompanied by trained aurors when studying these Vampires."

Hagrid replied "No Harry ya can't send lots of aurors you'd scare 'em, make 'em all suspicious and we wouldn't get accurate results."

This was the one thing about Hagrid that really annoyed Harry. Hagrid saw all monsters as misunderstood cuddly creatures when in fact they were deadly dangerous, surely Hagrid realised that vampires drank human blood and often killed those they drank from! Harry sighed knowing he would never convince Hagrid that this wasn't a good idea but at least he had tried.

"Then please Hagrid at least let me and Luna join you" he said.

Hagrid beamed at him. "Great idea Harry, it'll be just like old times."

Percy took this to mean he could get on with the next point of the meeting it was obvious that unlike Harry Percy really wanted to be getting on with his paperwork rather than be sitting in meetings with his colleagues

"Yes Harry and Luna can accompany you I agree that is probably for the best. Harry Professor McGonagall has not approved this plan yet I want you to go with Hagrid and convince her to allow it. Dumbledore would have wanted us to do this think what would have happened had the vampires sided with you know who during the war. We can't risk that happening again so we must learn about them. Anyway I see nothing else to discuss Harry accompany Hagrid to Hogwarts I must get on with my reports" Percy finished and with that the meeting was concluded.

Harry turned to Luna he thought that perhaps she would be accompanying him to Hogwarts but Luna showed her uncanny ability to know exactly what someone was thinking.

"No Harry, I'll be coming with you for the study but I can't come now I have to catalogue all the Nargles in that meeting, they are why Percy was so short."

Harry repressed a snort and accompanied Hagrid to the Atrium where they would be able to apparate to Hogwarts.

Harry took a seat in front of the head teacher's desk at Hogwarts, he couldn't help but think of all the times he had sat in this very seat. It seemed so strange to see Professor McGonagall behind that desk and not Albus Dumbledore.

"Harry it is good to see you although I must say I did not expect you but I'm sure once Hagrid has explained his proposal it will become clear to me why you are here and not rounding up death eaters." Professor McGonagall said.

Hagrid shifted in his seat and it creaked ominously he was obviously very nervous so Harry decided it would be best if he outlined what he knew and then Hagrid could elaborate.

"Hagrid came to the Ministry because his proposal required the approval of the department for the regulation and control of magical creatures as well as approval from magical law enforcement. The proposal he put to us was this. Hagrid would be teaching a research project off campus with his NEWT students studying a magical creature that the ministry has little knowledge of, for this reason I and Luna Lovegood have been asked to take an active role if you approve his idea."

Harry hadn't wanted to steal Hagrid's thunder and that is why he hadn't mentioned what the magical creature was that was Hagrid's job talking of which it looked like Hagrid had finally gained his confidence enough to speak.

"See Professor, I want to take me kids to study Vampires." "With Harry there to provide protection of course," he added quickly seeing McGonagall's look of horror.

It took a few moments for Minerva McGonagall to calm down and process what Hagrid had said. He had asked her if he could take student to study Vampires, Minerva had liked the proposal of an in depth study of a magical creature but why did Hagrid have to choose something so dangerous? She was about to refuse him outright but Hagrid had gained somehow gained ministry approval for this hair brained scheme and she had to know why. So she turned to Harry and asked

"Harry please tell me why the ministry wishes to support this?"

Harry looked worried he himself wasn't very keen on the idea but Percy, his boss, had given clear instructions so he replied to the headmistress.

"Ministry approval has been given because of the opportunity this proposal represents. My department feels that it is about time the wizarding world knew more about those they share the earth with especially intelligent creatures such as Vampires. Can you imagine Professor how many more people would have died had Voldemort had vampires backing him. Thankfully he didn't but it could easily have happened as we know so little about them. We simply feel that we cannot risk them allying themselves with dark wizards if that is avoidable but also this is an opportunity to improve inter species relations."

Harry had said his piece and Minerva McGonagall approved the proposal she could see the benefits and had told herself the Dumbledore would most definitely have approved of this. Minerva McGonagall had held the late headmaster in very high regard despite the flaws that had recently been revealed.

"Very well Hagrid. You may teach only NEWT classes this year and I grant permission for off Campus study. But I am going to put some safety conditions in place. You may only study a maximum of three Vampires to start with until you have ascertained more about their kind. You are to stay hidden from the Vampires as much as possible but if your research goes such that you must interact with them then the student's safety must be your first priority! Do you understand that Hagrid if any student is in danger you are to abort and come straight to me no ifs and no buts, understood?" She fixed Hagrid with a fierce gaze and Hagrid replied

"It's all right professor Harry's with me and he'll keep me in check."

"I'm sure he will now you two have a lot of preparation to do and so do I."

Hagrid and Harry left the office and had an in depth discussion back in Hagrid's hut. It was agreed then that the study would initially focus on the vampire and cub that had been noted by the ministry to be travelling Cirque du Freak. Hagrid thought this was a brilliant idea as he had never heard off a vampire cub before. A few days after the start of term the research group of Hagrid's NEWT class travelled to the Cirque du Freak to begin their study of vampire behaviour. But before that the three adults left to do a preliminary study without the students.


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter has been updated and re-formatted with intention of improving clarity. I hope it is now a lot easier to read.**

**DISCLAIMER - I do not own anything taken from either Harry Potter or Darren Shan. **

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Chapter 2 – Childs Play.

Harry, Hagrid and Luna had gone to recce the intended subjects of what Hagrid had dubbed 'Project Vampires.' Professor McGonagall had after all insisted that they take no unnecessary risks where student's safety was concerned. As such they needed to follow the intended subjects for a few days in order to see how they reacted. Then it could be decided how the students would carry out the study. The three had been following the Vampires for several days now and had noticed one thing that would be highly important to the study. It appeared that the older vampire had a very strong protective instinct for the cub, so much so that the cub although he thought he had free reign was actually under close observation at all times. Harry and Luna needed to know how the tall Orange haired vampire would react if he perceived a threat to his cub. Although it was not their intention to rile the vampires during the study where children are concerned accidents can and do happen, so a contingency plan needed to be set in place. It was for this reason that Luna had just laid a trap for the cub. Now the three wizards looked on waiting to see just how strong the older Vampire's paternal instinct was.

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Darren's POV

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Darren was storming away from the Cirque in a foul mood, Mr Crepsley had been ordering him about again and Darren was fed up of it. He knew he had to follow his master's orders but why wouldn't Crepsley give him any personal space? Recently Mr Crepsley had been shadowing Darren's every movement and had forbidden him to go out in the daytime. Darren had no idea as to why Mr Crepsley had taken all his freedom away but he wasn't about to risk being punished by asking him about it. He suspected if he did ask the older vampire that the only result he would get would be a swift clip around the ear and to be told, "the only way to deal with a rebellious half vampire was a good old stake through the heart!" One thing he was sure of was that he wouldn't get told why he couldn't go out. Darren was sick of it, and he wasn't taking it anymore. He was sure he could survive without the grouchy orange haired vampire so he had left as soon as Mr Crepsley had retired to his coffin. He had no idea where he was going just he was getting away from old grumpy back in his coffin.

Darren was so caught up in himself that he missed the strange smell in the air that night as he walked through the forest. He stepped into a clearing, there was an enormous bang. Darren jumped back with a start and fell straight into a deep pit that had been dug behind him. As he fell he was bound from head to foot by steel ropes that had appeared out of thin air. He landed in the arms of a gigantic man who was covered in hair, the man grabbed him in a vice like grip and ran off into the distance with a child screaming at the top of his lungs.

Evra, Darren's best friend at the Cirque, had heard Darren's screams for help and immediately ran to wake Mr Crepsley who had just fallen asleep for the day.

"Calm down Evra and tell me what happened," Mr Crepsley said as he was roughly shaken awake

"Mr Crepsley quick, Darren stormed off into the woods in a temper and I think he has been kidnapped." Larten Crepsley jumped out of his coffin faster than the eye could see

"Damn that child, I told him to stay inside when I am not with him. Stupid stupid child, he will not sit down for a month when I get hold of him!" With that Mr Crepsley flitted out of his tent to Darren's last known location in order to start tracking the kidnapper. He would now have to follow the trail by daylight which had done nothing to improve his mood.

"Why did I have to pick an assistant that has not two brain cells to rub together" he snapped out loud even though he was alone.

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Harry POV

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Hagrid arrived back in camp a few minutes later with the cub vampire still screaming at the top of his voice, only he was actually only managing to shout at a normal talking volume.

"I got 'im, had to put a silencing charm on 'im to shut him up, only it didn't work so good." Hagrid stated as the cub shouted

"HELP! MR CREPSLEY HELP" again and again. Harry knew that if they stayed where they were it would be only minutes before the adult vampire found them. Luna had just sent a patronus telling him that the adult vampire was hot on Hagrid's trail despite it being daylight. They couldn't have him find the cub so easily, they needed to study how the vampire would react to the thought of his offspring in danger, and they couldn't just rely on the heat of the moment reaction they were getting right now.

"Hagrid quickly we have to leave bring the cub here and hold my hand we're going back to your hut." Harry said. Hagrid scooped up the young vampire, who by now had stopped screaming and was whimpering in terror, and grabbed Harry's arm. With a faint pop the trio disappeared into thin air and instantaneously they were hundreds of miles away in Scotland. It would take the orange haired vampire days to get here even with the speed they had observed him to possess, plenty of time for Luna to trail him and study his behaviour.

Harry sat with Hagrid in his cabin, the cub was there too but inside a magically reinforced cage in the corner of the cabin. Harry had to cast an incredibly strong charm on the cage to stop him breaking out but after a few hours the cub stopped trying to break out and sat on the cushions Hagrid had put out for him. He was now silently crying.

"Hagrid time to go and meet the class I will watch the cub, you need to introduce the project let me know when you're ready for me to bring him outside to meet the students." Harry said and Hagrid left the cabin to meet his project students and explain to them what they would be doing for the whole year. After Hagrid left he started writing down his notes as to what they had discovered so far.

_Vampire children seem to exhibit far less magical resistance than the adults of their species. We have also noted that the cub drinks blood far less often than the adult and has to be coaxed to do so. As of yet we are unsure as to whether human blood is essential in their diet or whether it is a cultural preference. Regardless of this neither of the two subjects of this study have drunk enough to cause any significant harm to their victim whilst under our observation._

At this point a small voice piped up taking Harry completely by surprise. The last thing he had expected was for a vampire to be literate, let alone the cub who couldn't have been more than 12 years old, but it was quiet obvious that he was.

"I wouldn't drink it if I didn't have to, it's disgusting. I hate it!" the cub had said. Harry took this opportunity to try and ask a few questions but when he did the cub just shook his head and started crying again and Harry could only get one more thing out of the cub. That was that his clan never killed those they drunk from unless they absolutely had to.

"We are not evil" he had simply stated. Harry continued his notes but scratched off the bit about being unsure if vampires needed to drink blood.

_As far as we can tell, Vampires, even as cubs, do require human blood to survive but neither of the two subjects of this study have drunk enough to cause any significant harm to their victim. We have also discovered that Vampires can move about during daylight but suffer rapid sunburn if they do. Interestingly the cub does not seem to be affected in this way. There are many differences between the adult and cub apart from being able to move about during the day and having less resistance to magic, the cub appears to have less speed than the adult. In some ways the cub is not too different from human children, our example can read the written word and speaks with a fair vocabulary. Both father and child show a strong family bond and the father is strongly drawn to protect his cub who will call for help if threatened. _

Harry stopped writing here as this was basically all they had discovered. A loud snort issued from within the cage.

"What is so funny?" Harry asked the cub who was now laughing darkly.

"Mr Crepsley isn't my Dad, I hate him, he took me away from my real family and made me a monster! He doesn't care about me either. He has probably given up and found some other mug to serve him by now, oh and stop calling me cub. I'm not an animal I'm a boy, and my name is Darren." It was Harry's turn to snort now and in doing so he nearly missed the tap on the window

"He does care about you Darren that much is obvious, we have been watching you a while now. He doesn't let you leave his side and is currently franticly searching for you. If you didn't care for him you wouldn't have been screaming his name for hours on end now, would you?" Harry replied he said the last two words with his eyes fixed on the boy who was now pouting. Harry had a sudden idea, this study would be much easier if Darren co-operated and the child was not so resistant to magic that he couldn't wipe his memory before they released him. Harry raised his wand and opened the cage then he pointed his wand straight at Darren.

"Come with me Darren, if you run I will stun you and you will be straight back in that cage. Come with me now and co-operate with our study of your kind and you will not be hurt. More than that I will return you to the orange haired vampire this evening. Do we have a deal?" Harry asked.

Darren was obviously unsure of what to do. He would probably get in trouble for revealing anything about himself but despite what Darren had said he did want to go back to Mr Crepsley. Darren came to a decision quite quickly which didn't surprise Harry at all.

"Ok I'll do as you say" he said

Then he added a condition of his own

"I won't fight you, but I might not answer all of your questions."

Harry was fine with this they had kidnapped the boy after all, and he himself would be guarded with his secrets if their roles were reversed, so he simply nodded, took the boy by the hand and steered him outside to the waiting class.

Hagrid was surprised to see the vampire out of its cage and more than a little worried about the headmistress's possible reaction to this but his mind was put at rest when Harry waved his wand and erected a magical barrier around the cub. The vampire could walk wherever he liked but could not approach within five metres of any of the students. Harry's spell had it been cast on a wizard would have stopped the wizard from going within ten metres of the students.

"Ermm Hagrid where is the creature we are supposed to be studying you said Harry was bringing it but that's just a first year with Harry right?" the speaker was a female student with fiery red hair.

"Ginny that is not a first year or even a human" Hagrid was saying

Darren blanched at this as if he was offended and Hagrid continued

"That boy students is a vampire cub, he is a very rare specimen and the only cub we have ever seen. Most vampires can't move about in daylight but it appears cubs can" Hagrid was stopped mid-sentence by an angry outburst from Darren

"Look you massive overgrown hairball, stop calling me a cub! Do I look like a bear or a wolf? No I didn't think so! I am a boy not an animal so stop treating me like one" he shouted he stamped his feet, took a swipe at the barrier and was knocked down on his bum where he once again started to cry. Several of the students, mostly those in Slytherin, rolled about with laughter at this, Hagrid looked like a scolded child and Darren just cried harder.

"Shut it you lot" Harry said and shot a glare at the Slytherins.

He called Hagrid forwards and whispered in his ear.

"The boy has spoken to me and has agreed to be co-operative, he is away from all he knows and is scared. His names Darren by the way."

Hagrid instantly knew what he must do the vampire boy was now to him just another scared first year so he did what he always did in that situation and went to comfort the distraught child.

Darren was sat on his bum crying with his head in his hands. He was very upset and couldn't stop himself from crying. This embarrassed him all the more, vampires didn't cry. Those people kept talking about him like he was an animal and Darren still found the fact he wasn't completely human any more deeply distressing. A huge hand the size of a dustbin lid started patting him gently on the shoulder, Darren lifted his head, and the tears dried up, to find the gigantic hairy man he had just shouted at crouched down next to him with a look of concern on his face.

"Come on lad, I didn't mean to upset ya. Ya names Darren right, I know this is 'ard on ya but ya gonna be fine no one 'ere is gonna hurt ya. I know ya name so you should know mine, I'm Hagrid and this 'ere is Harry." Hagrid said and embraced the small boy in a bone crushing hug. What Hagrid hadn't realised is just how much of an effect this would have on Darren who was crying out for a bit of affection. Since he had "died" and left his parents care, he had received no physical affection whatsoever. Darren burst into tears again, all the harder this time, and buried his head into Hagrid's chest and it took Hagrid several minutes of gently patting him on the back before Darren finally calmed down and let go. No one was laughing now and no one saw a monster anymore just a small boy in need of some attention. Minerva McGonagall who had been watching from her office window had relaxed and felt sympathy for the caged and terrified child. This child was no threat to them that much even a fool would realise.

Whilst Hagrid was calming Darren Harry addressed his class.

"This year we are going to be studying Vampires as part of a research project and this will be your entire NEWT in this subject. We will be leaving the castle to do this as we will not be keeping Darren here against his will." He smiled at Darren "He is here simply to answer a few questions about his race so that we can ensure your safety whilst studying them. So please ask him some questions and remember each of you will be expected to write thirty feet on the species for your end of year assessment. Ginny Weasley addressed Darren first asking him two questions

"Were you born a vampire? Do you drink blood?"

Darren looked at her "No and Yes?" he said the question had been rude and abrupt and so was Darren's answer.

A Ravenclaw girl quickly said "Oh come on that's not fair. One word answers. Don't be mean we've got exams to pass."

Darren understood where she was coming from it was not that long since he had been in school himself but he was not about to reveal too much about the clan. He could however give them something to work with.

"I won't tell you everything I know, and I don't 'have' to answer any of your questions" he said. All the students looked very disappointed Darren smiled "but I will tell you some things. Don't ask me for anything more than I tell you now as I won't answer you and nothing you can do to me will change that. No I wasn't born a vampire I became one seven or was it eight years ago, my reasons were personal and are distressing, I will not share them. The reason I can move about in daylight is nothing to do with me being a child it is because I am only a half vampire. My parents were both human I just haven't been fully blooded. That is what we call it when we turn someone into a vampire. I do have to drink human blood which is something I hate, the thought of doing so still turns my stomach so I only do it when I must. If I didn't drink any at all I would waste away and die. I can keep going on animal blood for a while but not forever as I found out myself a few years back. There is no way to unbecome a vampire but we are not evil and we do not kill those we drink from instead we drink small amounts regularly to control our thirst. If a vampire was to kill without good reason he would be hunted down by his peers and executed."

Darren could have told them much more about himself and his people but he chose not too he didn't know who these people were and although he hadn't been a vampire the clan was his first priority. Besides none of them looked disappointed with what he had said.

Harry POV

Darren had been true to his word, he was incredibly stubborn which reminded Harry of himself a little bit. Despite the many questions that the students asked after he finished speaking Darren could not be persuaded to utter another word he simply sat down and looked very sorry for himself. Harry suspected even under torture that Darren would speak no more, not that he had any intention of doing that, but he didn't think Darren realised that in fact he thought Darren look like he was expecting to be beaten to within an inch of his life for disobeying.

When the class ended Harry was true to his word. He grasped Darren's arm and apparated back to where they had trapped the boy. He told Darren he was free to return to the Cirque and thanked him for his co-operation. Harry then threw his invisibility cloak over himself and as Darren walked away he pointed his wand at the boy and said "_Obliviate." _Darren's eyes momentarily went out of focus and he forgot everything that had happened since his capture. Harry had intended to erase the capture as well but the vampire blood in Darren proved too much for the magic and it erased exactly half of what Harry had wanted to erase. As Harry returned to Hogwarts he decided they would delay by a week to give the vampires a chance to recover from their separation. He also thought he had worked something else out that would need confirmation. Darren was only half a vampire and the spells cast against him worked but by exactly half their normal potency. They were only working on his human half and Harry surmised that a full vampire would be utterly immune to wizard magic. This meant they would have to be very careful not to rile the vampires they studied.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for this chapter being a bit short but it seemed like a good place to end it. I have tried to improve my formatting and grammer errors so hopefully this will read easier than previous chapters. Please let me know if it has improved and any ways I can make it better. **

**DISCLAIMER - Harry Potter and Darren Shan aren't mine so please don't sue me. **

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Chapter 3. The Consequences of Disobedience.

Darren had now returned to the Cirque du Freak for some reason he no longer felt angry, he was unsure as to why he had run away in the first place and now all he felt was deep confusion. It was still daylight and Mr Crepsley wouldn't be up for another few hours at least. Somehow Darren could tell his memory was incomplete. He remembered storming away from the Cirque after Mr Crepsley had gone to sleep. There had been a loud bang which had made him jump. He had fallen backwards, then he had been bound and carried away by a gigantic hairy man and then he had found himself standing in the same place he had been kidnapped from. There were no signs of the trap he had fallen into and judging by the position of the sun in the sky most of the day had passed but Darren could not remember what had happened in the missing hours no matter how hard he tried. He was also very tired, and once again he couldn't remember why. So he lay down in the hammock that was set up next to Mr Crepsley's coffin and fell asleep. 

After Darren had been kidnapped and he had been informed of it Mr Crepsley had immediately used the training in tracking he had learnt in the generals and followed the boys trail. Said trail had disappeared abruptly but there had been a strange smell, which had Larten did not recognise nor did it do anything to put him at ease, and there had been signs of a fight on the ground. He had spent all the available hours that night searching fruitlessly for his lost assistant before facing defeat at the rising of the sun and returning to the Cirque to consult the one person he thought might be able to point him in Darren's direction. All Mr Tall had been willing to tell him was that Darren was in no immediate danger and that Larten would be reunited with him in the future. Mr Crepsley had pressed for more information but Mr Tall would not give it even though Larten had been sure that the mysterious man new more. Tired from his fruitless search Larten had retired to his coffin for the day in the hope that sleep would bring him ideas, what it actually brought him was far better than a simple idea. His assistant was returned to him as he slept. 

Larten awoke as soon as the sun was fully set and arose to continue his search. He didn't know how he was going to have any more success today than yesterday but he was still going to try. He looked wistfully over at the empty hammock that Darren should have been sleeping in and sighed. He started to leave, but stopped quickly to look back at the empty hammock only it wasn't empty. Larten was full of mixed emotions, hope that Darren was in the hammock, anger at Darren for running away, sadness that his assistant had been kidnapped in the first place, and more anger at the thought of someone else in Darren's hammock. Whoever was in that hammock was going to be getting a beating for one reason or another and when he saw the shape of the twelve year old boy he realised it was indeed Darren. Larten's mind now only held two emotions, relief and anger in equal measure. He reached for a glass of water on the shelf above the hammock and threw it across the sleeping boys face, Darren was getting up whether he wanted to or not, the boy was going to explain what had happened even if Larten had to beat it out of him! 

"So, you see fit to waltz back in here and simply go to bed like nothing has happened do you boy. I … think … not! Explain yourself now!" Larten roared. What little colour that had been in the boy's face drained away instantly as he looked up and saw his mentor standing above him physically shaking from pent up anger. Oh crap Darren thought I'm seriously for it this time! 

"Some random bloke tied me up in the forest, then I was back here, I can't remember anything else," Darren stated.

This was quite obviously the wrong thing to say as he felt a sharp pain as Mr Crepsley's hand made contact with his left ear. "What the heck was that for," Darren wailed. 

"If you did not wish to beaten then you should not have disobeyed me," Mr Crepsley shouted,

"You know you are not leave my company at the moment." He roared,

"you went out during the day whilst I was asleep thus you wilfully disobeyed my command. Now Darren you are going to tell me where you have been, whether you want to do so or not is completely irrelevant!"

"I told you I was in the woods," Whack. Mr Crepsley had cuffed Darren around the other ear this time.

"Do not lie to me!" he roared

"I followed your sent, you were not in the forestry you say you were in. I would have found you. I have been searching for two days now. Darren's face was now a picture of confusion, which did not go unnoticed by Mr Crepsley. From Darren's point of view he hadn't been anywhere other than the forestry and he certainly hadn't been gone for two whole days, but Mr Crepsley was not known for exaggeration and normally he was perfectly truthful. Darren hadn't noticed Mr Crepsley's features soften at his obvious confusion so he saw no way to escape a severe beating for lying. He bolted for the door, in an attempt to escape being beaten. 

As fast as Darren was he was only a half vampire which meant he had never had any hope of outrunning his full vampire mentor. Had he been thinking clearly he would never have even attempted to do so, but a side effect of the memory charm placed upon him was that, Darren wasn't thinking straight! As soon as Darren started to run Mr Crepsley moved, with the speed of a full vampire, to block the exit. To anyone watching it would have appeared that Larten Crepsley had simply vanished and reappeared in the doorway. Darren tried to duck under his mentor's outstretched arm and as he did so the vampire stuck his leg out. Their was a loud crack as Darren's legs were swept from under him, causing the boy to land flat on his face. The speed with which Darren had collided with Mr Crepsley's outstretched leg caused the bones in Darren's lower leg to break. 

Larten Crepsley had not intended to injure his assistant merely stop him from running away again. But in doing so he had broken the boys leg. This was more than punishment enough for Darren's misdemeanor so the beating he had planned to give the boy later was now out of the question. He scooped the shocked child off the floor and lay him back in his hammock before drawing up a chair beside it. His expression was soft now and when he spoke the anger in his voice and was all but abated. 

"Why did you try and run Darren? Yes I would have beaten you for disobeying me, and for lying to me, but you would not have ended up with a broken leg, or any broken bones for that matter." There was warmth and kindness in Mr Crepsley's voice now. 

"I panicked." Darren said.

He knew that Mr Crepsley had not meant to injure him, and that it had been his fault his leg was broken. The pain of the injury had brought him back to his senses, although the memory charm had not been broken the side effects had lifted. Darren now realized his best course of action and now his only course of action had always been to tell the truth as he saw it.

"I was angry that you won't let me be alone anymore, so I tried to run away." Darren said,

"There was this big bang in the forest and I jumped back, I fell and was tied up and then suddenly I was standing again like nothing had happened. It was evening now, not morning like it was when I was running away. I had calmed down as well, so I came back here. Then you woke me up and started having a go at me." The last sentence was uttered in the unmistakable whine only a child can manage.

"If that is all you recall I will not ask any more questions something has obviously affected your memory since you cannot recall the last two days." With a sly smile Mr Crepsley added "Obviously it also affected your reasoning. You should have known you had no hope of outrunning me." 

Mr Crepsley did something he had never done before and gave Darren a hug like a father would if his son had been hurt. He then splinted Darren's leg as he did so he thought had Darren not realized why he was keeping him so close at the moment?

"You do know why I haven't be letting you go out alone do you not Darren?" Mr Crepsley asked as he wrapped bandages around Darren's leg.

"No, I didn't dare ask. I thought you'd beat me for questioning your decisions," Darren replied.

"Do you really think that lowly of me?" Mr Crepsley sounded slightly hurt that Darren was thinking that he would beat his assistant unfairly. "Where a decision I make relates directly to you, you have a right to know why, I would not punish when you had done nothing wrong. I had not told you because I assumed you had smelt them too. Darren the reason you were, and still are, to stay with me at all times is someone with a near human sent, not a vampire or a vampaneze but not a normal human either, has been following us for quite some time. I wanted you close because I feared for your safety and as you have just been kidnapped it is clear that my fears were not unfounded."


	4. Chapter 4

**Apologies I had meant for them all to leave for Vampire mountain in this chapter but it kind of didn't happen. I promise that will happen in the next chapter. This chapter really ties up a few loose ends and gets the research project properly started. I hope you enjoy reading it.**

**DISCLAIMER - I don't own anything from either the Saga of Darren Shan or from Harry Potter  
**

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Chapter 4 – Feeding Time

A week had passed now since Darren had returned to Mr Crepsley. To start with Mr Crepsley had kept Darren even closer to him than before. Darren strongly suspected that in those first few days had it not been for his broken leg that Mr Crepsley would have had him on a leash and because of this Darren was secretly grateful for the broken leg as he would have found that eventuality extremely embarrassing. As the week went on Mr Crepsley had seemed to calm down certainly he had stopped looking to see where Darren was every five minutes and today he had even left Darren alone in the tent for a whole twenty minutes. Darren decided he was going to have a quick look outside the tent as he really wanted to see if his leg had healed sufficiently for him to put any weight on it yet. It hadn't! As soon as Darren tried to put weight on the leg it collapsed from beneath him and he went sprawling onto the ground. Oh great he thought just what I need, nothing to use here to help me get back inside and now when old grumpy comes back he is going to find me outside without him.

Sure enough when Mr Crepsley returned and found Darren outside the tent he was less than impressed. Darren was roughly picked up from the floor and thrown back inside the tent. He gasped with pain as he landed awkwardly on his broken leg.

"Maybe that will teach you to do as you are told! How many times do I have to tell you? You may not go outside alone!" Mr Crepsley was fuming with rage but he held it back Darren's disobedience was not the real reason for his anger and it was not fair to take it out on the boy.

Larten Crepsley was not an easy person to read but Darren had been with him for at least seven years now and he was one of the few people who had some ability to read Mr Crepsley.

"Mr Crepsley, I wasn't going anywhere I just wanted to see if my leg would hold my weight yet. It won't!" Darren spat "What is wrong? I could see you were angry before you found me outside again. Please don't break my other leg," Darren whined but there was a flicker of a grin on his face as he said that.

"The ones that kidnapped you, they are back, and in large numbers. I cannot find them but I know they are here there scent is unmistakable. I fear we must leave and that the Cirque is not safe for us now." Mr Crepsley said.

"Where will we go?" Darren asked.

"Vampire Mountain is where we must go. It will be very difficult with your broken leg. I have contacted Gavner and he has said he will join us this evening and help carry you hopefully your leg will have healed by the time we reach the more difficult parts of the trail. For now I want you to try and sleep the rest of the day, as will I, for we will need all our energy but first we must both feed." Mr Crepsley said.

Darren didn't want to drink human blood again so soon it had only been two weeks since he last fed and normally he was allowed a month between feedings. Maybe he could get out of it later but arguing with Mr Crepsley while he was this riled was sure to hurt. So the half vampire just sighed and grasped the older vampires arm for support and they left to find some unsuspecting human to feed on.

Harry POV.

As an Auror Harry normally found surveillance to be relatively easy but doing it with a class of 30 school children and a half giant certainly didn't make it easy. In the week before taking the students Hagrid had given daily classes on known vampire behaviour patterns with Luna providing information from within the ministry. Harry's work was different but equally as important, his job during that week had been to ensure the students could perform strong disillusionment charms, teach telepathic communications, a skill not normally taught at Hogwarts, and to handle the logistics of keeping a full class of students safe whilst outside the school's grounds.

The first and second of these tasks had been relatively easy, most of the students on the program had been a member of the DA during Harry's own fifth year and he had taught them the basics of disillusionment and telepathic communication, so for all but the Slytherins this had simply been revision. The logistics on the other hand had been a nightmare but he had now sorted them and five portkeys lay waiting on the lawns to take the students to the Cirque du Freak. When the students arrived Harry spoke up.

"Ok we all know what we are doing today, and we need to be very careful. I want all of you to cast disillusionment charms on each other now. Hagrid please put the cloak on." Harry had wanted to use the invisibility cloak himself but due to Hagrid's giant blood the disillusionment charm wasn't effective on him and he too needed to be disguised. Once all the students where blending in with the background Harry and Luna cast charms on themselves that rendered them near completely invisible.

"Ok the portkeys leave in one minute everyone please get hold of one" Harry said.

Harry felt that familiar jerk behind his naval and landed gracefully in the forestry where they had caught Darren.

Harry was very glad he had chosen to disguise everyone before leaving because when they arrived the Orange haired vampire, Mr Crepsley Darren had called him, was standing maybe fifty yards from their insertion point. Harry sent a telepathic message to everyone.

"_Keep quiet, and observe our subject is within sight, don't let him know we are here_"

But the vampire was intently sniffing the air, he followed his nose like a hound who had caught a sent and within seconds he was within touching distance of the group.

"_Nobody is to move or speak_" Harry messaged.

"_Sir, I think the vampire can smell us they must have enhanced olfactory senses" _one of the students messaged back.

Now Mr Crepsley was searching, he looked under every bush and behind every tree, even climbing a couple. It was very obvious he knew something wasn't as it should be but after forty minutes of fruitless searching the vampire turned away. He was running towards the Cirque Du Freaks campsite and then suddenly he vanished.

"_Professor, I think we should follow" _Mary one of the Hufflepuffs messaged

"_We'll follow but not all of us, anyone wearing any kind of perfume has gotta stay. We stay downwind of them and no more than five can come." _Hagridmessaged.

Hagrid took Luna and three students with him leaving Harry to mind the other students. Harry chose to set up base camp and to pick everyone who remained brains as to what they would do about the vampire's sense of smell.

Hagrid's small group travelled as quickly as they could. They arrived just in time to see from under the cover of the trees to see Mr Crepsley throw a person inside a tent, the person was obviously injured.

"_Thought these might come in handy" _Hagrid messaged and from inside his cloak he pulled five extendable ears and handed them out.

"Wingardium Leviosa" Mary whispered.

The extendable ears rose and landed just outside the tent the vampire had just entered, now they could hear what was going on inside. Luna made a mental note to tell Harry to work on non-verbal spell work with the students.

They heard a sharp cry of pain that sounded like a child's and then another voice spoke. An adult this time and he spoke in precise measured tones.

"Maybe that will teach you to do as you are told! How many times do I have to tell you? You may not go outside alone!"

The students reacted with shock the older vampire did not sound in the slightest bit sorry for hurting this child whom they now realised was probably the scared half vampire boy they had met in the castle grounds last week.

"Mr Crepsley, I wasn't going anywhere I just wanted to see if my leg would hold my weight yet. It won't! What is wrong? I could see you were angry before you found me outside again. Please don't break my other leg"

It was definitely Darren that spoke. Hagrid face went white and he looked like he was going to be sick but none of the others with him noticed they were all listening to intently to the conversation within the tent.

"The ones that kidnapped you, they are back, and in large numbers, I cannot find them but I know they are here there scent is unmistakable. I fear we must leave. The Cirque is not safe for us now." Mr Crepsley said.

"Where will we go?" Darren asked.

"Vampire Mountain is where we must go. It will be very difficult with your broken leg so I have contacted Gavner. He will join us this evening and help carry you hopefully your leg will have healed by the time we reach the more difficult parts of the trail. For now I want you to try and sleep the rest of the day, as will I, for we will need all our energy. But first we must both feed."

After hearing the last part Luna sent a quick telepathic message to Harry.

"_Bring everyone they are going to feed" _

Mr Crepsley moved at a speed that they could easily follow this time, he had to Darren had a broken leg. The boy had fashioned a tree branch into a crutch but he still needed to hold someone's hand to steady himself. Mr Crepsley had heard someone walking in the opposite direction down the street and quickly disappeared up a tree. Darren couldn't follow because of his injury so he was going to have to act as the bait in the trap.

Hagrid's class had followed keeping themselves downwind of the vampires and it didn't look as if the vampires were aware of their presence. They watched as Mr Crepsley shimmied up the tree and saw Darren leaning against it, he looked to be in severe pain. They watched as a stranger walked down and when he spotted the injured boy leaning against the tree he darted towards the boy and straight into the trap.

"You're going to need to get that leg seen to lad. I'll just phone my wife and we'll get you to the hospital. You'll get a proper cast for that leg then it won't hurt nearly so bad."

The stranger pulled a phone out of his pocket and as he started dialling Mr Crepsley jumped out of the tree and clapped his hand over the man's mouth. The man's eyes widened in alarm and then he lost consciousness and slumped to the floor.

"_We need to find out how he did that? He didn't hold him long enough to knock him out from lack of oxygen nor did he use pressure points." _Luna messaged.

Mr Crepsley lifted the strangers arm found a large vein and sliced it open with his fingernail. He clamped his mouth over the cut and drank. When he was finished he pressed his finger firmly over the wound and turned to Darren.

"Your turn, his blood is good and there is plenty of it." Mr Crepsley said.

"I don't need to..." Darren began but as soon as the boy started to argue Mr Crepsley slapped him hard on the back of the head. The boy was thrown off balance and fell forwards landing on the unconscious stranger. Mr Crepsley held the strangers arm in one hand and with the other he pushed Darren's head forward so his mouth covered the cut in the man's arm.

"There will be no argument, you need to drink when blood is available," Mr Crepsley stated then seeing the boy still wasn't drinking he added "struggle all you like Darren I will not be letting you up until you drink."

Darren opened his mouth to argue and as he did his mouth filled with blood from the cut, he started to choke and then he had no choice but to swallow otherwise he would have been unable to breath. Mr Crepsley held his assistant in place for a full ten seconds making him drink more than he had drunk before except for that one occasion when his friend had been mauled to death.

After he had released Darren, Mr Crepsley rubbed spit into the man's arm closing the cut ready to return to the Cirque but stopped at the mutinous look Darren was giving him.

"I can't believe you forced me," Darren said

"It is time you got over your fear of blood boy. You are a half vampire you must drink blood, and you are injured, your leg will not heal properly if you do not drink sufficient human blood. I will force you again and again until you stop being stupid and drink when you need to. And no I will not apologise for having your best interests at heart." Mr Crepsley replied.

"I know I have to drink blood" Darren began but once again Mr Crepsley cut him off

"Yes you drink when you start to feel sick and weak, that is not enough Darren. You must drink every time the hunger strikes otherwise when you become a full vampire, and one way or another that will happen, you will not be able to control yourself and then you will kill. I cannot allow you to do that as I know you could not live with yourself after."

"Ok I get what you're saying but I still don't like what you just did, but I can accept it." Darren said

"I am glad to hear it."

He then picked his assistant up and steadied him on his feet.

"Put some weight on that leg Darren. Now you have fed it will be healing properly and should be able to support you again. You must feed every day until it heals, as long as you do that leg will be as good as ever in three days' time."

Sure enough Darren found his leg did feel a lot better and he limped back to his tent to get the days sleep Mr Crepsley had ordered. The older vampire followed behind ready to help his assistant if he needed it.

Once the vampires had left Hagrid turned to his class.  
"They 'ave gone off to sleep. We should leave 'em to it and we 'ave lots to discuss."

Hagrid was still white as a sheet and as they walked back to camp Harry walked with him,

"Hagrid, what's up?" Harry said.

"It's all our fault Harry."

"What's our fault?" Harry asked confused something had affected his friend and he needed to know what. Hagrid let out a huge sniff.

"It's our fault Darren's leg got broke"

"Come again Hagrid"

"We kidnapped 'im Harry. Darren ran away and we kidnapped 'im, made that Mr Crepsley angry and he took it out on Darren, he broke his leg Harry all because we took 'im away. It's our fault he had to drink blood when he didn't wanna too, cause Crepsley broke 'is leg which was our fault he has to drink more to heal properly, and he don't want ta." Hagrid wailed and let out a huge sob that made most of the class turn around.

"How was that our fault?" Mary said "Mr Crepsley told him to stay inside and he didn't do as he was told. No its Darren's fault for not doing what he was told and Crepsley's fault for over really overreacting."

Hagrid didn't look entirely convinced by this but it did calm him down somewhat and soon they were back in camp.

Later that afternoon the group had a meeting to discuss what they had learnt and after the meeting concluded Luna set to writing her report of what had been learnt that day.

_We have discovered that vampires have a very strong olfactory senses. Our research group was almost discovered today by this fact and we also need to bear in mind that their other senses are likely heightened as well. _

_We had the opportunity to witness the vampires feeding. Ambush hunting tactics were observed but also a high degree of intelligence could be observed from the way they baited the trap. The adult vampire rendered the victim unconscious by clapping his hand over the victim's mouth. We detected some sort of venom in the victim's blood stream and at this moment in time we assume this was delivered by a venom gland in the hand of the vampire. _

_The feeding itself was interesting as it didn't conform to expected methods. The vampire did not bite the victim instead he cut a vein using a sharp fingernail before drinking a small amount of blood. _

_When it was the turn of the cub to feed he was reluctant and it became obvious that the cub has not yet developed a taste for blood. It does appear that blood is essential even in the cub's diet as we observed a rapid increase in healing ability's after feeding. _

_This brings us on to the subject of vampire discipline and we are somewhat disturbed by what we have seen. The cub had been punished, for disobeying his mentor and going outside alone, by having his leg broken. When the cub shied away from feeding he was physically forced to do so. The force used on a child in this day and age in the human world would have been considered abusive. _

It was now three o clock and as the vampires planned to leave shortly after nightfall she needed these few remaining hours for sleep. Harry had obviously come to the same conclusion as when he came in to the staff tent he stated.

"I have placed sleeping charms on the students I suggest we do the same otherwise we will struggle to keep up tomorrow."

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**I hope you enjoyed reading that and my apologies I think I made Darren back down a bit too easily there. Next chapter will see them on their way to Vampire Mountain I want something to happen on route but i'm not sure yet what. The wizards won't reveal themselves until Darren starts his trails that much is sure but I do want something exciting to happen on route. If you have any ideas please feel free to voice them. **

**I have also re formatted chapters 1 and 2 and will be posting up the revised chapters in due course the purpose of this is taking into account the reviews and trying to make them easier to read. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer - These characters are not mine**

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Chapter 5 – Bad Blood

Darren awoke not long after dusk that evening to find Mr Crepsley up and waiting for him. When he saw Darren stirring he picked up a small rucksack from the floor and passed it to his assistant.

"I have packed your personal effects and now that you are awake we shall take our leave."

Darren picked up the bag and looked through it all that was in it was his diary and a set of plain clothes. This couldn't be right Mr Crepsley had already told Darren that the journey would take weeks and they would be travelling through ice and snow! In answer to the unasked question Mr Crepsley said

"The journey to and from vampire mountain is a test of endurance and strength. We shall not flit, and it is forbidden to take spare cloths or to wear footwear on the trail. Ropes and climbing gear are also forbidden, we travel as nature intended for us to."

"That's just stupid, nobody would know if we cheated" Darren muttered which made the his mentor sigh

"You still have much to learn Darren. If you disobeyed the rules you would be cheating none but yourself."

Darren sighed he was defeated. Although he did not agree with all of the vampire's customs and ways even then he was starting to accept and learn to live within them. Some of them he was even starting to see as the right way to do things. The boy had changed inside since becoming a half vampire and not just physically slowly but surely Darren was starting to think like a true vampire should. Something had changed last night when Mr Crepsley made him drink properly, suddenly he was determined to behave like a vampire should and maybe, just maybe, he wanted to earn the respect of his mentor, and make the vampire proud of him.

"Mr Crepsley, how long till Gavner gets here?" Darren asked. The older vampire's face screwed up in concentration as he searched for Gavner's mental signal. A few seconds later he spoke.

"Gavner is still a fair distance away. Even flitting it will be two hours before he reaches us."

Darren had an idea, maybe this was his chance to show Mr Crepsley his new resolve.

"Could we meet Gavner on route? I need to find a human to feed from and you said there was a town about an hour away that we would pass through on our way to Vampire Mountain."

At these words a rare smile found its way onto Mr Crepsley's face and he patted his assistant on the back. He was surprised but there was no way he was going to look a gift horse such as this in the mouth. He had fully expected to have to force Darren several more times before he relented, the boy was stubborn that way. Was Darren finally starting to accept that he was now a vampire? It certainly looked that way and Larten Crepsley silently prayed to the vampire gods that he was right.

"Come we will meet Gavner later, let us go feed."

Darren kicked off his shoes and allowed Mr Crepsley to guide him out of the tent and into the night.

* * *

There was chaos in the Hogwarts campsite the alarm charm had sounded just twenty minutes before and most of the students had still been in bed. The vampires had just left, and camp had to be taken down before the wizards could follow as a group. Harry was silently thanking the gods that the vampires were moving slowly although they were masking their trail. If he hadn't slipped out of camp, leaving Hagrid and Luna to pack up, to follow the pair he was sure they would have lost them. The two Vampires had been moving steadily in a northward direction and Harry followed behind. He had been using all his skill as an Auror to move with stealth and so far had been able to evade detection.

Harry had arrived into the outskirts of a small town by the time Hagrid's class caught up. The students were not being nearly careful enough though and Harry shot them all a quick telepathic message.

"_QUIET, they don't realise we are following let's keep it that way." _

They entered a small park were a homeless man lay asleep on a bench and the vampires made a beeline for him. Harry thought, of course hadn't Mr Crepsley said this morning that Darren had to feed each day for a while to heal, it looked like they were about to observe feeding number two

* * *

Mr Crepsley watched as his assistant prepared to feed and secretly wondered whether or not the boy would have the courage of his convictions. He was sure now that he would not have to force the issue, but he did wonder how much support the boy would require. Darren had after all never fed without Mr Crepsley feeding as well nor had he ever actually made the incision himself. Now that he was standing next to the sleeping human he could see that some of Darren's resolve had started to slip. This was a big step for the half vampire he had only fed twelve hours or so ago so he had very little craving for blood.

"Do you…" Mr Crepsley began but was cut as Darren took a deep breath and with a shaky hand sliced into the man's leg. He was too rough, the man had felt it. His eyes shot open and he clenched his fist.

Mr Crepsley moved forward quickly and breathed over the man's face before he could wake.

In time Darren would manage this without waking the human but for the moment he was too nervous so his hand was unsteady. Darren looked utterly horrified at what he had just done and Mr Crepsley thought he was going to shy away but to the vampires surprise Darren did not. He lowered his face to the cut and drank after a few moments he lifted his head.

"You need more. I will tell you when to stop." Mr Crepsley said.

Darren sighed and continued to drink he realised despite Mr Crepsley saying when he could stop he hadn't needed the vampire to do so.

He slowly limped over to a park bench leaving Mr Crepsley to deal with the human. A few seconds later the older vampire was sitting next to him and was wiping the small trail of blood from the boy's lips.

"I am proud of you Darren. It is obvious you struggled but you did well"

Mr Crepsley was beaming now, he was full of pride his assistant appeared to have got over his fear of blood in just one day.

"Why? I did badly," Darren asked. Mr Crepsley was shocked by this. Why would the boy be so surprised? Why was he being so hard on himself?

"You managed all by yourself with no encouragement from me. Only yesterday I had to physically force you to drink. Be proud Darren for the first time since you have been with me you acted as a true vampire."

"But I didn't!" Darren was shouting now "I woke him up, the cut was far too large, I hurt that man, and then I pulled away too soon."

"Darren, do not go there, you did him no harm. You were nervous, you did very well. In time you will not wake up a human, but that takes practice. Take pride in your achievement and do not expect too much of yourself. As I have said you have made me proud tonight."

Gavner Purl had watched from a distance as Darren fed, he was pleasantly surprised to see the half vampire was now feeding independently. He thought that although the princes might take some convincing it would soon become clear to them that Darren would make a fine vampire despite his tender age. The young general snuck up behind the boy as he and Larten talked. He raised his hands to grasp the boy's shoulders fully intending to make Darren jump with fright but as he did so Larten's arm which had been around Darren's back moved upwards hit him hard on the nose sending him sprawling on the ground. The two full vampires burst into laughter at this and Darren who had jumped into a fighting stance relaxed when he saw it was Gavner.

"Gavner, why were you sneaking up on us?" Darren asked and Mr Crepsley let out a derisive snort.

"Sneaking up on us," he laughed, "Gavner I could hear your heavy breathing from a mile away."

"Darren didn't hear me though, did he?" Gavner shot back

"Oh congratulations Gavner, you can sneak up on a child who is not even fully blooded! If ever the generals need to infiltrate a school I will make sure I recommend you." Mr Crepsley laughed.

Gavner blushed so deeply if not for his eyes you could have mistaken him for a vampaneze he was so embarrassed. But before long all three vampires were laughing merrily as they set off into the country side.

* * *

It had been three weeks since the vampires had left the town and the wizards had been tracking them all the time. They had watched the vampires feed four times now. Once Darren and Mr Crepsley, and then the next two times only Darren had fed. The young vampire had been very nervous the first time and had woken his victim. His mentor had stepped in and somehow knocked the victim unconscious again. Everyone had been surprised to see that Darren seemed to have developed a taste for blood. The students had been theorising that the first feed develops the desire to feed. This was a good theory but unfortunately Harry, Luna and Hagrid knew it to be wrong. They had seen the child feed when they had been observing him alone and that had not made him want to feed anymore. Harry wondered what had caused Darren's sudden change of heart and hoped that somehow they would find out.

The vampires had seemed very on edge today. They were jumping at the slightest movement and had Darren so close to them you would have thought he was surgically attached. When the two adults started fashioning makeshift weapons for themselves Harry had come to the decision that it was too dangerous for the students to continue their fieldwork and much to Hagrid's chagrin Harry had sent the students back to Hogwarts on health and safety grounds. The three adults had decided to continue the study though and were following much closer than before.

* * *

The three vampires came to a sudden stop, well two of them did the third, Darren, walked straight into his master earning himself a clip around the ear. "What the heck was that for?" Darren shouted but was immediately silenced when both full vampires struck him.

"Darren, pay attention to your surroundings," Mr Crepsley snapped

"Larten his senses are not as sharp as ours since he is only a half vampire." Gavner said, his voice was low as he was trying not to be overheard. Darren started sniffing the air and soon he locked onto a smell. Human but with something else added.

"I know that smell, but I can't place it."

"There are two smells on the wind boy, one has been following us since before we left the cirque but the other I have only just smelt. It is the latter that concerns me more." Mr Crepsley was saying.

At this point Gavner snatched at a branch.

"Definitely Vampaneze Larten." Gavner said.

Meanwhile in a bush watching the vampires Hagrid crept further forwards. He was trying to see what the vampire had in his hand. Suddenly the cub was being held back and the vampire that wasn't holding him was slowly moving towards them, on full alert, arms held defensively in front of him.

Mr Crepsley slowly approached the bushes where he had heard movement. It was the ones that had kidnapped Darren he was sure of it. and now was the time for answers. He reached into the bushes and pulled out a young man. The man went to pull something from his pocket but Mr Crepsley was too fast. Quick as a flash the man's arms were pinned to his sides such that he couldn't defend himself and the vampire breathed in his face. Two more people pulled out of the bushes brandishing sticks. Mr Crepsley dropped the man who was now unconscious and with one fluid motion knocked out a young women.

"Don' kill 'em," the third man shouted he was utterly vast both in width and height but you wouldn't have called him overweight, he was just massive. "And why should I not?" Mr Crepsley retorted as Gavner and Darren arrived at his side.

"You" Darren squawked, a glimmer of recognition shooting into his eyes and then he just sat down.

"They didn't hurt me Mr Crepsley," Darren stammered "they let me go." Gavner rushed forwards breathing into the giants face and he fell with a resounding crash.

"These two are human and Darren's leg is deteriorating again since we have been short of human blood. He should feed." Gavner said and Darren knowing he was right went to feed on the young women. Her blood tasted strange but Darren needed it so he drank anyway.

An older more experienced vampire would have realised her blood was undrinkable but Darren was neither old nor experienced.

His vision started to cloud and he collapsed in a heap next to the three wizards screaming at the stabbing pains that were now piercing his stomach.

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**For anyone that has been wondering the events of the saga don't play out as they did originally in this story. Darren has left for Vampire mountain but has not yet met Mr Tiny. As such Harkat does not travel with them nor has darren met a Murlough. Crepsley has left before council because of the wizards following them. Hope you like the cliff hanger and please remember I like reviews. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Here is chapter 6. Those of you that have been reviewing will be pleased to know that I am going over all of my work with anothers help. I will be improving the narration style, correcting grammer and spelling errors, and generally making all of my stories much easier to read. Because of this new chapters over the next few weeks will be few and far between, but chapters that have already been uploaded will have much better updated versions posted up. **

**DISCLAIMER - I do not own Harry Potter or Darren Shan. **

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Chapter 6 – Rescue and Recovery.

The pain caused by drinking the Luna's blood was unbearable. Darren's vision had clouded red and he felt as if he had been run through with a sword. All he could was roll on the floor clutching his stomach whilst screaming in agony.

"What?" Gavner and Larten exclaimed as one.

Larten touched his finger to the young lady's wound, raised it to his mouth and tasted the blood, a second later he spat it out.

"Gavner, I require water now, unless you want to watch me writhe on the floor with Darren." Larten yelled.

He could feel his tongue burning. He knew if he swallowed even the tiniest amount, the blood would poison him as it had Darren. He grabbed the bottle Gavner handed him and thoroughly washed all traces of the tainted blood from his mouth.

A vampire's sense of smell is so attuned that they can smell a person's blood even if it had not been spilled. Now that Larten paid attention to his senses he could smell that, both the man and the women's blood was human but there was an extra sinister undertone to it.

"Her blood is poison. She is human, but her blood is tainted. I cannot be sure but I fear what it will do to Darren. The way the tiniest amount of it burned my tongue it may kill him."

Harry felt very groggy as he came around and he had the beginnings of a pounding headache. This was not in any way helped by the agonised screams someone close by was making. It took a few moments before Harry realised what was going on. They had been seen by the vampires, and it appeared they had all been knocked out.

He opened his eyes to see three shapes in the distance. Two of the shapes were crouched over a third. It was this third person that was screaming in agony. Harry turned his head. Hagrid and Luna were lying on the ground nearby and were still unconscious. Hagrid looked uninjured but Luna's leg was covered in blood. Harry could not attend to it straight away though, the person screaming on the floor, whom Harry realised was Darren, needed his help more. Luna's injury was minor, and judging by the intensity of the screaming Darren was in a far worse state.

Harry rose and walked over to where the two adult vampires were anxiously watching Darren. He cleared his throat to get their attention. Suddenly a hand was grasping his throat. He was lifted off the ground and thrown through the air. He landed in a heap on the ground quite some distance from where he had been.

"You did this!" One of the adult vampires, Larten Crepsley, roared.

He strode over to where Harry had landed, every feature of his body dripped with the anger. The only tool Harry had to defend himself with was his brain, he could not use his wand. Magic would not work on a full vampire such as the one that was approaching him. He was going to have to talk his way out of this one or the vampire would kill them all.

Harry's mind was working in overtime as the vampire approached him. He looked to the screaming boy and then to Luna. She only had a small cut! That was it! Darren must have tried to feed from her, but Luna was no ordinary human she was a witch. The magic in her blood must have poisoned him. If he could get this vampire to trust him he might be able to help Darren and possibly even save the project.

Harry pointed to Darren and then to Luna, making sure Larten saw.

"Did he drink from her?" he asked. The vampire nodded and slowed in his approach.

"Her blood will have poisoned him. I must act fast if we are to save him. You have to let me help," Harry half pleaded

There was a small nod and Harry was on his feet running toward Darren, this time the older vampire let him pass.

"_Regargio_," Harry screeched.

A jet of violet light shot from his wand. Immediately Darren started to retch, but he didn't vomit. If Darren was going to live the he had to get Luna's blood out of the vampire's stomach.

"Damn it," Harry yelled. Darren's vampire blood had stopped the spell from being fully effective. Thankfully he was only a half-vampire. If he had been fully blooded the spell would have been completely ineffective.

Harry pointed his wand at Luna this time.

"_Enervate_,"

Luna stirred.

"Don't ask questions just act," Harry ordered, "We have to make Darren vomit, but my spells not powerful enough."

Luna and Harry pointed their wands and together they shouted

"_Regargio," _

Two jets of violet light struck Darren this time. He was lifted off the ground retching violently. The two spells combined had the effect that one should have done, Darren threw up the poisonous blood.

"He should be alright now." Harry said.

Strong hands grasped him by the hair and dragged him to a tree where he was tied up alongside Hagrid and Luna.

"Then explanations are in order." Larten purred

The screaming and writhing gradually stopped. As his body calmed Darren started to pant heavily. His gut ached, and his head pounded, but the stabbing pains had stopped. When he had the energy he rose to a seated position. Darren could now see that Larten and Gavner had three people tied to a tree. Two of them Darren recognised, Hagrid and Harry. Hagrid looked terrified.

"If you had no intention of harming us you would not have taken my assistant. Tell the truth or so help me I will cut it out of you." Mr Crepsley was saying. Darren heard the scraping of a blade being sharpened. He tried to stand so that he could get over to the other vampires and let them know what he knew. He didn't have the energy to do so, but pushed on regardless dragging himself forwards using only his arms.

"They…are t…telling… the truth." Darren gasped. Larten whirled around to face Darren and saw the boy crawling towards him.

"Don't… h…hurt… them, they are… telling… truth. School… study… learning about… v…vampires. They… want to be… friends"

It had taken all the little energy that Darren had to say his message and as he passed out from the exertion he just hoped he had been successful.


End file.
